Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-02-26
BONNER IN OLD AGE.
THE MAN WHO WAS ONCE NOTED
FOR QUAINT ADVERTISING.


and at Home.
Not long ago saw man crossing the
street railway tracks near the Franklin
statue with the gait of an old farmer. He
wore old fashioned broadoloth, with low
cut waisteoat and rundown collar with
q black tie His Overcoat pocket was
stuffed with newspapers and magazines.
A heavy bundle nestled under his arm
Thick arctic shoes covered his feet for the
weather was wintry. His hair and hat
reminded me of the late John A. Logan.
Like Logan, he wore his hat ON the back
OF his head. The man was well knit, and
his head set quite close to his shoulders.
He had a high forehead, with fully devel-
oped perceptive faculties. The eyes were
hazel and pleasant in expression, the nose
was clear and web cut, and the face quite
broad and placid. He Hoped along as
though lost in thought There was
nothing about him that would attract
special attention. A Jerseyman might
have taken him for some preacher in the
Dutch Reformed church on his way to
Aquackenowk.
NEVER "PETERED OUT"
He was the man, however, who devel-
oped gold mine by the use Of printers
ink quarter Of century ago quicker
than any man in America since that time.
That mine has never 'petered out" It is
as good to-day as when first. discovered.
He was Robert Bonner. When q boy
set type in his office He was even then
as deliberate of motion and as reflective in
mind as he is to-day. Mr.. Bonner's adj
vertising method was not O cloud burst
which attracted momentary attention. IL
was steady stream of water pouring from
clear sky for an indefinite period Be-
fore six months the stream excited uni
versal interest. People wanted to know
where it came from, and what made 1t.
} They bought his family newspaper to as
certain its source, and Mr.. Bonlor quickly
became rich. Keen men, who initiated but
never equaled his quaint advertising, also
waxed wealthy. Others, who got in later
tainted by the wayside, for the novelty Of
the advertising display was soon gone.
Mr.. Bonner spends from four to five
hours day in his sanctum. 1t is an odd
little room Everything seems to be in
confusion. The chairs are filed with piles
of old newspapers, and books and maya
zines are scattered in every corner. En-
cravings and photographs, recalling the
triumphs and friendships of past years,
hang on the walls. Bones, models of
hoofs horseshoes and other oddities sug-
gestive of love of equine speed are in
, the room. The editorial desk is litter of
letters and newspaper clippings. Horace
} Greeley's old Tribune table was never in
q worse condition. Nobody but Mr., Bon
ner himself, however, touches anything in
the room. II he wants any special article
he fishes among the litter at o given spot
until he finds it. A good sized safe squats
at one end of the room. 1t is filled with
I curiosities that have q value peculiarly
3 delightful to Mr.. Bonner alone. For in
3 stance, it contains the gold watch that
. marked Dexter's first wonderful time.
The independent second hand remains on
the fraction of second as the catch was
sprung, and has never been thrown back
Q to the hour since the horse dashed under
the string. Near this watch rests Sec
ond chronometer, marking the time of
Pocahontas, and third recalling the I'M
/ rivaied achievement of the peerless Maud
t S. How many other souvenirs of the
glories past the safe hides from public
G view Mr.. Bonner alone can tell.
PAID LARGE SALARIES.
The wonderful sums paid to Edward
a Everett, Henry Ward Beecher and Fanny
I Fern have repeatedly been made public.
q These were by no means the only writers
to whom Mr.. Bonner paid large salaries.
Oliver Dyer, stenographer, for years
edited the correspondents column at 1876
, week. After q decade of this drudgery
, he wrote an article for Packard's Monthly
, entitled '"The Wickedest Man in New
! York" He awoke the next morning
andi found himself famous Within q
I year Charles A Dana was paying him
! 800 week for special reports on The
n Sun. Mr.. Bonner opened his eyes.
Here, Oliver, y he said one afternoon, "ii
you're worth 800 week to men outside
The Ledger Office, you're certainly worth
that money to the men inside of it, Stick
. to your Answers to Correspondents here
1 after, and draw your 800 week. u
! From that day to the present the veteran
] has retained his easy berth.
: Mr.. Bonner is not only keen literary
! critic, but he is an accurate judge of men.
/ His knowledge of human nature seems in.
tuitive. His judgment is quick and de
cisive. He knows what he wants and hi
. pays handsomely for it. No man car
coax him to buy what he doesn't want
n He trimmed his sails and laid his news
! paper course thirty years ago, and he has
a pursued 1t since then without jibing OF
) making o tack. His columns are never
2 at the service of his friends. He refuses
a to grind even the most infinitessimal Of
) axes. To all such appeals he is adamant
: He frequently steels himself against hi;
own sympathies in nerving himself tt
q refuse such requests.
! Between 8 and p m. Mr.. Bonner up
sets his waste paper basket, pulls on hi;
. overshoes, descends the stairs and trudges
homeward. He walks over to the Park
place elevated station and rides to Fifty
i eighth street. He lives on this street
q within 200 feet of Fifth avenue. TIL,
;. house is q plain brown stone front, -four
, stories high, and without any extra trim
q mings. 1t is substantially but not gaud
q lily furnished. Bookcases are not only
! filed, but volumes are piled upon tn,
= parlor tables without regard to effect
!, Bonner is n plain, matter of fact HON,
=, man. He has no box at the opera and
+ never saw him at a theatre. He gives n,
1 social Entertainments York Cor
Pioneer Press.
Jordan Water for the Royal Baptism
. A curious offer was made the other da!
: by a lady who recently returned from